5. Do you “label” yourself?How can I not? That’s what humans do to survive! Woman, sister, wife, archaeologist, cat person, among others…

6. What does your watch look like?have several – none that I wear often. One is a black and grey timex that I use when I run.

7. What were you doing at midnight last night?Out for a walk with my husband.

8. What did your last text message you received on your cell say?”That’s too bad. Hope you feel better.”

9. What's a word that you say a lot?the (doesn't everyone?)

10. Last furry thing you touched?one of my cats.

11. Favorite age you have been so far?30. it’s a nice round number. But I’ve only been 30 for 24 hours.

12. Your worst enemy?myself.

13. What is your current desktop picture?

a picture of anya that I posted on my blog in my first or second post

14. What was the last thing you said to someone?Have a good thanksgiving. See you Monday.

15. If you had to choose between a million bucks or to be able to fly what would it be?Million bucks, but only if that’s money and not actual “bucks.” Otherwise I’d like to fly.

16. Do you like someone?Sure, why not?

17. The last song you listened to?Sara by Bob Dylan.

18. What time of day were you born?5:30pm

19. What's your favorite number?9

20. Where did you live in 1987?King of Prussia, Pennsylvania

21. Are you jealous of anyone?Always. Currently? My sister just bought a house, my brother bought one earlier this year. They both have new cars. But then, that’s just stuff. So it’s minor.

22. Is anyone jealous of you?

I don’t know.

23. Where were you when 9/11 happened?

At my parent’s house sleeping – it was 6am. But then I got a call and turned on the tv – I saw the second tower collapse. It’s burned in my memory.

24. Do you consider yourself kind?Not usually. And I regret it often.

25. If you had to get a tattoo, where would it be?Who says I don’t have one?

26. If you could be fluent in any other language, what would it be?French.

27. Would you move for the person you loved?I probably will have to. Isn’t that how it works in marriage?

28. What's your life motto?Why do it now when I can do it later? But honestly I’d like to change that!

29. What's your favorite town/city?Montreal

30. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it?A couple months ago.

31. Can you change the oil on a car?No. But I’d be happy to figure it out. I hear it isn’t that difficult – just a bit messy. But I’m not allowed to work on my car in the street, and I don’t have a garage or driveway. So that’ll have to wait.

32. Your first love: what is the last thing you heard about him/her?How about my first crush? Because I think the sick thing that I thought was love back in high school was nothing like love… The last thing I heard about Todd was that he was a math teacher in Pennsylvania somewhere. The last thing I heard about my ex from high school was that he and his wife might be thinking about having kids soon.

33. How far back do you know about your ancestry?Pretty far in the Hilton line (or hylton as it was originally in England); otherwise I know I’m German, Croatian, English, and Norwegian. And I like to think I’m all Viking – but my Norwegian ancestors were farmers. Oh, and I think there is some Polish, Swedish, Scottish, and French in there too. Huh. It’s disturbing to think that I am somehow related (distantly) to Paris Hilton. I wonder if she knows there’s been some minor inbreeding in our line back around the civil war period? That's probably not her line, just mine. The Hiltons came to the US in the 1600s, but they were Lords back in England - in fact, there's a run-down "castle" too.

34. The last time you dressed fancy, what did you wear and why did you dress fancy?My brother’s wedding a month ago! I wore a black, lacy, off-the-shoulder dress.

35. Have you been burned by love?No. I’ve burned others. Sorry, just being honest. I've been burned by other things that were masquerading as love, though.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Or something like that. This may be the last time I admit my age - I'm 30 today. Last year when I turned 29 I freaked out a bit - thinking about all those things that I didn't do in my 20's. I got over that rather quickly (I didn't need to do most of those things anyhow). Although there are things I thought I'd do before I reached 30 - like have children, which I have not done. Like travel the world (or at least beyond the US borders). Oh well. Now I'm feeling as if I need to have some sort of "new decade's resolutions." Sort of like New Year's, only for my thirties:In my thirties....I will have more fun.I will procrastinate less. (i might need to put this one off at least a few more days)I will learn to cook.I will try something new every week? not every day - i mean, really, do I have time for that?I will knit more (and maybe faster).I will take more photographs.I will plan less and be more relaxed.

Ok. Enough of that silliness. Time to go celebrate my young age.And for your cat-viewing pleasure:

Calico cat with one of three kittens (she has two calico and one black and white). She hangs out with "tuxedo cat" a cat who used to terrorize our (now-indoor) cat Chester.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

"You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.

Huh. Well, oddly enough, I've had several people ask me if I'm from the east coast. Not sure what they're picking up on. But still - I say home, about, and water as if I'm from Philadelphia - and I was for ten years growing up. People from Philly say "wuttur." No idea why. I think it also has to do with where your family is from and what sort of accents they have... my parents don't have accents either. And I seriously doubt where I live now has a distinct accent. My husband and I say things really differently (he's always making fun of the way "whore" and "horror" sound the same out of my mouth). Is syrup "seerup" or "sirup"? I find it all so interesting. But sometimes I wish I had an accent. But hey, I have a good voice for tv or radio. That's something, right?

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Are you a new mitt knitter? How long have you been knitting mittens?Yes, I’m new! Fairly new to knitting still also.

Do you prefer solid or multicolored yarn?Either way – for cable patterns and designs, though, solid, heathers, or tweed is better than self-striping.

What fibers do you prefer in mitten yarn?Something soft and wool!

Where do you usually knit mittens?At home – I don’t have anything to easily carry my projects yet, so it’s a bit of a hassle.

How do you usually carry/store small projects?Um…in ziplock plastic bags or translucent plastic boxes. Not too fun, but it keeps the cats out. ;)

What are your favorite mitten patterns?I don’t have any yet..

What are your favorite mitten knitting techniques?Don’t have any of these yet either!

What new techniques would you like to try?Practically any interesting technique would be new and fun for me.

What are your favorite needles for knitting mittens?I like bamboo and wood needles – but for mittens, I’m not sure yet.

What are some of your favorite yarns?I haven’t used too many yet, but I love the colors of the Manos del Uruguay and NoroSilkGarden. Noro Kureyon has great colors, but it feels a bit scratchy to me. I hear Misti alpaca is lovely and soft too.

What yarn do you totally covet?Well who doesn’t love cashmere…it’s just sooooo expensive.

Any pattern you would love to make if money and time were no object?I’d like to knit the Saffron Cables afghan in the fall 2006 interweave knits and also Starsky from Knitty, and also perhaps a lovely cashmere cardigan of some sort..

Favorite kind of needles (brand, materials, straights or circs, etc)?I haven’t used circs or dpns yet. I like wood and bamboo when I’m knitting wool.

If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be?Noro Kureyon – but a bit more chaotic and rather scratchy sorta person. Either that or a basic wool, like Cascade 220.

Do you have a favorite candy or mail-able snack?Gummy bears…gummy anything. Could go for some sour gummies, too. Yum.

Would you prefer super warm mittens or something more like fingerless mitts?It’s never that cold here in southern Arizona. I might move someday…but currently I don’t really need super-warm stuff. So, fingerless mitts would be more useful.

If you were a color what color would you be?Sage green.

What is your most inspiring image, flower, or object in nature?The lotus flower. I also like deep orangey-red gerbera daisies.

Do you have a wishlist?I wish for many things…peace….happiness… oh you mean stuff? I do have an amazon list, but it doesn’t have too much knitting stuff on it. Or much of anything in fact.

Anything else you’d like to share with the group today?I have spent way too much time looking for patterns to knit, yarn to buy, and needles I need, that I have hardly done any knitting!

Monday, November 06, 2006

Here are my hot socks swap goodies from Iva. A pattern, Online self-striping wool yarn, peanuts, hot cocoa (haven't had any yet, saving for a nice cold evening...if that ever happens), a set of US3 dpns, and some interesting cookies. I should've posted all this earlier, but uploading photos was the last thing on my list! I'm looking at this photo thinking I really should break into those cookies soon. I haven't cast on yet for my (first-ever) pair of socks - I suspect the first try will be a disaster. I joined the knit mitt kit swap on swap-bot, and I know I have to post my questionnaire....but that's going to take brain power. No brain power right now.

In other swap news...I should've posted the cool buddha that I received from a little buddha swap maybe a month ago now!

There he is sitting in my kitchen window. Don't you just want to rub his belly? Well, it didn't help during the playoffs. I guess this buddha doesn't root for the Dodgers or Yankees. Bummer.